Page 73 of Carnal Wagers

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he grumbled.

“And keep us updated with everything you find.”

“Always do, kid.”

The insult barely hit. “Let’s get out of here.”

The car’s back passenger door slammed shut. As the engine rumbled to life and our driver pulled out, Liam practically bounced in his seat.

“Now that was some grade-A shite. LK finally fucked up.”

“Whatever happened, all of us, we’ve been sitting on this information for a long time,” Brody groused.

“You really thinking this has to do with Da’s second wife?” Liam asked me.

“Aye, I’d bet my bleeding life on it. Brody, get some people on this with you. We need everything on Fiona Maguire, from beginning to end. Everyone she ever spoke to before she met Da and after she moved with us to the States. Where she was staying after the divorce. Who visited her in the hospital. Did she have a funeral? Who paid for it? Absolutely everything.”

“Will do. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of days.”

“Good. Liam, I’ve assigned a team to LK’s next possible target. I want you to keep up with them. Don’t you dare bungle it up. If LK is changing patterns, we need to follow.”

“Wait…what target?” Liam’s brows furrowed. “You didn’t, did you? Oh, fuck my balls, you did. I can’t believe it. You broke your celibacy streak? Brody, our bruh here’s back to dipping his wick. We need to celebrate.”

“Do I look like I’m in the mood?” Honestly, I needed some rest and time alone, preferably in the dark.

“You’re never in the mood.”

“Who is she?” Brody asked.

“Oh, do tell. Must be a good story to this.”

I forced my fingers to uncrimp so as not to punch that smug grin off Liam’s face.

“It’s nothing.”

“Nothing gets someone protection detail these days?” Brody unhelpfully added.

“Just get it sorted. We don’t have time to waste on this.”

“When do we get to meet her?”

“What’s the point in that? She’ll be dead soon anyway.” It was just like Brody to state the cold, hard facts, no matter how unpleasant they were.

The difficult truth was, there wasn’t a point to any of it. Everyone around us died. It was simply a matter of time. I was so bloody tired of knowing nothing came next.

“If you like her, avoid her. It’s the safest thing you can do for her.”

With her personality, she wouldn’t let me. Truth was, I wasn’t sure I wanted her to.

“Like I said, she’s nothing. Just a bit of amusement.” I stared out the window at the passing scenery. It’d been fun and exciting but fleeting. Like everything. She was just another high that ultimately crashed. “Where are we with the cartel’s government contacts?”

“The governor’s aide is at our beck and call.” Liam squished a receipt in his fist, then dropped it, slapping his palms together. “The secretary though…won’t bend. I told Arthur to turn him in. I think the cartel holds something worse over him.”

“I put a lookout on their families.” The clicking of Brody’s keyboard keys loaded his words. Organization was crucial to him, and no matter the conversation, every meeting required a detailed write-up. “His son has been missing from work, and no one, not even his building concierge, has seen him since the day Arthur and Big Charlie first made contact with the Health and Human Services secretary.”

“The man’s an eejit.” Liam settled his head back against the seat. “If the cartel has the son, he’s never getting him back.”

“Get rid of him. Then have our grafters appoint someone loyal to us in his place.” The secretary was more useful to us dead than alive at this point. “Have Monkey Boy handle it. Tell him discretion is mandatory. We don’t want too much noise.”